Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Jaydeep Mukherjee. The Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales (referred as “Fairdeal Appliances” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Sales, Strategy.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales Case Study

In January 2018, the regional manager of Fairdeal Appliances (Fairdeal) was deliberating the merits of continuing with a selective distribution strategy in Denpasar, Bali. Abdul Electronics, Denpasar's biggest retail outlet for Fairdeal appliances, had just taken on a dealership for Technica, which was a strong competitor to Fairdeal. However, if Fairdeal responded by approaching additional retail outlets to carry its appliances, it risked an increase in intra-channel competition, which could result in less dealer motivation to sell Fairdeal appliances and an overall reduction in Fairdeal sales in Denpasar. The regional manager also knew that if Fairdeal did not increase its presence through additional retail outlets, it would likely continue to lose sales from Abdul Electronics, but would have no possibility of making up the shortfall. In future, other retailers who sold Fairdeal appliances might also become Technica dealers. Had Fairdeal's selective distribution strategy run its course? Should Fairdeal open up the market and pursue an intensive distribution strategy? The entire market was waiting for a response from Fairdeal. Jaydeep Mukherjee is affiliated with Management Development Institute.

Case Authors : Jaydeep Mukherjee

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Sales, Strategy

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10002127)	-10002127	-	-
Year 1	3469425	-6532702	3469425	0.9434	3273042
Year 2	3965906	-2566796	7435331	0.89	3529642
Year 3	3961458	1394662	11396789	0.8396	3326117
Year 4	3249689	4644351	14646478	0.7921	2574058
TOTAL			14646478		12702859

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2700732

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Payback Period
2. Net Present Value
3. Profitability Index
4. Internal Rate of Return

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Fairdeal Appliances have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Fairdeal Appliances shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Fairdeal Appliances often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Fairdeal Appliances needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10002127)	-10002127	-	-
Year 1	3469425	-6532702	3469425	0.8696	3016891
Year 2	3965906	-2566796	7435331	0.7561	2998795
Year 3	3961458	1394662	11396789	0.6575	2604723
Year 4	3249689	4644351	14646478	0.5718	1858020
TOTAL					10478429

The Net NPV after 4 years is 476302

(10478429 - 10002127 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10002127)	-10002127	-	-
Year 1	3469425	-6532702	3469425	0.8333	2891188
Year 2	3965906	-2566796	7435331	0.6944	2754101
Year 3	3961458	1394662	11396789	0.5787	2292510
Year 4	3249689	4644351	14646478	0.4823	1567173
TOTAL					9504972

The Net NPV after 4 years is -497155

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9504972 - 10002127 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Fairdeal Appliances to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Fairdeal Appliances has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Fairdeal Appliances can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Fairdeal Appliances, then the stock price of the Fairdeal Appliances should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Fairdeal Appliances should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales

References & Further Readings

Jaydeep Mukherjee (2018), "Fairdeal Appliances: Managing the Dealer Network for Optimal Sales Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.